Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Jim Jarmusch combined his love for the ice-cool crime dramas of Jean-Pierre Melville and Seijun Suzuki with the philosophical dimensions of samurai mythology for an eccentrically postmodern take on the hit-man thriller. In one of his defining roles, Forest Whitaker brings a commanding serenity to his portrayal of a Zen contract killer working for a bumbling mob outfit, a modern man who adheres steadfastly to the ideals of the Japanese warrior code even as chaos and violence spiral around him. Featuring moody cinematography by the great Robby Müller, a sublime score by the Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA, and a host of colorful character actors (including a memorably stone-faced Henry Silva), Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai plays like a pop-culture-sampling cinematic mixtape built around a one-of-a-kind tragic hero.
Director-Approved Blu-ray Special Edition Features
- New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Jim Jarmusch, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- Alternate isolated stereo music track
- New Q&A with Jarmusch, in which he responds to questions sent in by fans
- New conversation between actors Forest Whitaker and Isaach De Bankolé, moderated by film scholar Michael B. Gillespie
- New interview with casting director Ellen Lewis
- New interview with Shifu Shi Yan Ming, founder of the USA Shaolin Temple
- Flying Birds: The Music of “Ghost Dog,” a new video essay on RZA’s score by filmmaker Daniel Raim
- The Odyssey: A Journey into the Life of a Samurai, a 2000 program on the making of the film
- Deleted scenes and outtakes
- Archival interviews
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: Essays by critics Jonathan Rosenbaum and Greg Tate, a 2000 interview with Jarmusch, and quotations from Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai, by the early-eighteenth-century monk Yamamoto Tsunetomo
New cover by Eric Skillman
Director-Approved Blu-ray Special Edition Features
- New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Jim Jarmusch, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- Alternate isolated stereo music track
- New Q&A with Jarmusch, in which he responds to questions sent in by fans
- New conversation between actors Forest Whitaker and Isaach De Bankolé, moderated by film scholar Michael B. Gillespie
- New interview with casting director Ellen Lewis
- New interview with Shifu Shi Yan Ming, founder of the USA Shaolin Temple
- Flying Birds: The Music of “Ghost Dog,” a new video essay on RZA’s score by filmmaker Daniel Raim
- The Odyssey: A Journey into the Life of a Samurai, a 2000 program on the making of the film
- Deleted scenes and outtakes
- Archival interviews
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: Essays by critics Jonathan Rosenbaum and Greg Tate, a 2000 interview with Jarmusch, and quotations from Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai, by the early-eighteenth-century monk Yamamoto Tsunetomo
New cover by Eric Skillman
Cast
- Forest Whitaker
- Ghost Dog
- John Tormey
- Louie
- Cliff Gorman
- Sonny Valerio
- Henry Silva
- Ray Vargo
- Bankolé Isaach De
- Raymond
- Tricia Vessey
- Louise Vargo
- Victor Argo
- Vinny
- Gene Ruffini
- Old consigliere
- Richard Portnow
- Handsome Frank
- Camille Winbush
- Pearline
- Gary Farmer
- Nobody
Credits
- Director
- Jim Jarmusch
- Written by
- Jim Jarmusch
- Produced by
- Richard Guay
- Produced by
- Jim Jarmusch
- Director of photography
- Robby Müller
- Edited by
- Jay Rabinowitz
- Production designer
- Ted Berner
- Costume designer
- John Dunn
- Sound designer
- Chic Ciccolini III
- Music by
- RZA
- Coproducer
- Diana Schmidt
- Casting by
- Ellen Lewis
- Casting by
- Laura Rosenthal
A scene from Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
